This article comments on decisions made by the U.S. Supreme Court. In Payne v. Tennessee, the Court allowed prosecutors to use evidence about the character of a murder victim and the effect of the crime on her or his family in persuading a jury to order the death penalty. Chief Justice William Rehnquist reasoned that earlier interpretations of the Constitution "unfairly weighted the scales in a capital trial" in favor of the defendant and against the state--forgetting that such weighting is precisely what the Bill of Rights is about. Justice John Paul Stevens wrote, in dissent, that the majority "has obviously been moved by an argument that has strong political appeal but no proper place in a reasoned judicial opinion." In Florida v. Bostick, the Court approved warrantless sweep searches of buses, if police ask the passengers' permission. Sheriff's deputies in Fort Lauderdale call their technique "working the buses." They board long-distance buses stopped briefly on interstate routes that, they say, drug couriers are known to use--in this case, a Greyhound bound from Miami to Atlanta. Without reason to suspect any particular passenger, officers stand in the aisle, question the riders, and ask permission to search their luggage. In California v. Acevedo, the Court gave police officers broad new powers to search, without a warrant, bags, suitcases, and other containers they find in an automobile even if they have no "probable cause" for searching the car. Justice Stevens wrote, in dissent, that unquestionable" the decision "will result in a significant loss of individual privacy."
